Recently, Everything Dinosaur reported upon the discovery and naming of a new species of African spinosaurid.  The theropod has been named Spinosaurus mirabilis.  It is the second species in the Spinosaurus genus to be recognised.  However, the fossil site in Niger will also yield other new dinosaur species.  It is not just the remains of theropod dinosaurs that have been preserved at the Jenguebi locality.  Fossils of sauropods have been discovered too. The Jenguebi sauropod fossils documented by the Spinosaurus mirabilis field team are likely to represent the remains of new taxa.

Jenguebi Sauropod Fossils

The newspaper headlines might have focused on the new Spinosaurus species.  After all, it is a remarkable discovery, however the fossil quarry in a remote part of Niger (Africa) preserves evidence of an inland Cretaceous waterway that teemed with life.

The picture below shows two field team members (Paul Sereno and Daniel Vidal) recording details of sauropod limb bones in November 2019.  The deposits at this site are associated with the Farak Formation.   The strata dates from the first faunal stage of the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian).  The Jenguebi sauropod fossils are approximately ninety-five million years old.

Field team members document sauropod fossil bones in November 2019 at the Jenguebi locality. Picture credit: M. Irving.

Picture credit: M. Irving

To read Everything Dinosaur’s earlier blog post about Spinosaurus mirabilis: New Scimitar-crested Spinosaurus Species is Described.

The Farak Formation

Sauropod fossil remains are already known from the Farak Formation. For example, fossils ascribed to the titanosaur Aegyptosaurus have been found. In addition, the remains of a rebbachisaurid have been discovered.  The newly discovered sauropod fossils, including limb bones may lead to a revision of the sauropod taxa associated with the Farak Formation.

We look forward to learning more about the remarkable vertebrate fossils found at this important locality.

Everything Dinosaur acknowledges the assistance of a media release from the University of Chicago in the compilation of this article.

The scientific paper: “Scimitar-crested Spinosaurus species from the Sahara caps stepwise spinosaurid radiation” by Paul C. Sereno, Daniel Vidal, Nathan P. Myhrvold, Evan Johnson-Ransom, María Ciudad Real, Stephanie L. Baumgart, Noelia Sánchez Fontela, Todd L. Green, Evan T. Saitta, Boubé Adamou, Lauren L. Bop, Tyler M. Keillor, Erin C. Fitzgerald, Didier B. Dutheil, Robert A. S. Laroche, Alexandre V. Demers-Potvin, Álvaro Simarro, Francesc Gascó-Lluna, Ana Lázaro, Arturo Gamonal, Charles V. Beightol, Vincent Reneleau, Rachel Vautrin, Filippo Bertozzo, Alejandro Granados, Grace Kinney-Broderick, Jordan C. Mallon, Rafael M. Lindoso and Jahandar Ramezani. Paper published in the journal Science.

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